I wrote this note to a friend who continues to believe in “Biblical gender roles” and thought it might be encouraging and helpful to others.

Every girl and boy, woman and man bears the image of our Creator. And each person has a unique set of gifts that God wants to use in powerful ways so that the Kingdom will be “on earth as it is in heaven”! Sadly, too often the church fails to empower ALL of God’s warriors because their strengths and gifts don’t fit into the right “gender box”. Like Jesse and Samuel not expecting David, many of God’s anointed are passed over because they don’t fit prescribed expectations. I know too many men who have been shamed because their gifts didn’t line up on the right list of “manly traits”.

This is a 2017 Junia Blog Contest Winner! We hope you enjoy it! Pastor’s wife problems: Getting slapped on the behind after your husband’s sermon while the congregant calls out, “Good message from Kris today”. Almost like “good game” after a sporting event. Woman pastor’s problems: Getting grabbed by the face after your sermon and […]

This is another 2017 Junia Project blog contest winner. We hope you enjoy! My siblings and I were setting the table when we heard an echo from the kitchen. “Honey, please put down that chain saw and come in; dinner is getting cold.” It was a typical weekend growing up in our home. My dad […]

This is another 2017 Junia Project blog contest winner. We hope you enjoy! Sometimes I still believe the myths. You know, the soft rumblings of that devilish voice that says, “you don’t have much to offer a congregation beyond your work in children’s ministry” or “you can preach, but only at our women’s retreat,” or […]

I should have realized it long ago; I should have recognized the signs.

But I didn’t. I suppose I was so lost in my own ideas that I didn’t notice. My husband and I were both raised in complementarian or patriarchal homes. Both of us were taught that the man was the head of the home, the priest and leader of the family, and that the woman was to submit to his leadership. He was wise to take her counsel, but the ultimate decision lay with him. He, as the man, made the final decision. And the wife submitted.

Soon after our 8th anniversary, we began homeschooling our children. The homeschooling community is, by and large, staunchly patriarchal. I threw myself into the whole scene. Women were to be raised to be keepers at home; there would be no careers for my daughters. I still remember my 5 year old daughter throwing herself on the couch in tears when she realized I didn’t support her desire to become a doctor.

This post is a Top 3 Winner for The Junia Project’s 2017 blog contest. “It was an American supermodel who first showed me an egalitarian view of the Bible. Kathy Ireland shared with me in an interview about her first modeling trip overseas when she was 18, when her loneliness led her to read the Bible her mom had slipped into her suitcase, and how Jesus’ love, honor, and care for women led her to God.”

We are SO excited to announce the winners of the 2017 Junia Project blog contest!

We received more than 60 entries and we had a blast reading every single one! Thank you to everyone who trusted us with your beautiful stories. It was amazing to read about how God is moving in your lives, and that is something we don’t take lightly. Please continue writing about your experiences even if your post was not selected this time around! Many of us have experienced healing and growth from the process of reflecting on our experiences and observations.

We received so many amazing entries that we decided to select 15 for publication instead of 10! As a reminder, all the winners will have their entries featured on The Junia Project blog, but only the top 3 entries will receive Junia Project swag. So here are the results (top 3 first, and in alphabetical order).

In 2015, a few months before my wedding, I wrote a blog for the Junia Project titled, 6 Things Egalitarian Marriage is Not. At that point, I had only a theological and biblical understanding of egalitarian marriage. Today, Ryan and I are just just shy of our 2 year anniversary, and I’ve got some egalitarian newlywed experience to offer as a sequel. Two different, individual people coming together to live as one flesh, come to find, is a process! It’s all too easy to live in the world of “me, myself, and I” when it comes to feelings, thoughts, opinions, and decisions. I continue to learn what it means to be “us”, and that what I do always has a direct effect on my husband. With that said, these are the relational dynamics that I’ve found to reveal whether or not an egalitarian marriage is underway.

It is Friday afternoon and my 14-year old folds her tall frame into the passenger seat. “Mom, I am so angry.” Uh-oh. My mother’s heart braces for teen-age trouble.

“Today in class, Mr. X. said that women cannot be pastors because they are inferior to men. And Mom, when I told him that I think that God has equipped women to be or to do anything that God calls them to, including pastor, he told me I was wrong and that my perspective was unbiblical.”

It has been another interesting couple of weeks out there in cyberspace so we’ve put together another links post for your weekend reading. Here are the things that caught our attention. Easter is almost here! Who Were the Women at the Foot of the Cross? Gail Wallace We were pleased to have this Lenten reflection […]

Announcing the Junia Project Blog Contest 2017! We love our readers and we know that many of you have inspiring stories and incredible theological insight. We want to hear from you and give you a platform to share your ideas! Here’s how the blog contest will work… Choose a Topic – Why I’m an Egalitarian – Write about your journey […]

Have you noticed that the internet has been flooded with voices supporting the egalitarian perspective lately? We have! It is remarkable to see the tide changing. We wanted give you a second chance to explore these resources in case you missed them this week. So grab a cuppa and settle in for some great reading. PODCASTS […]

It’s time for our annual Top Ten list. And what a year it has been! In 2016 more than 236,000 people visited The Junia Project website – and we had over 916,000 page views*. We are delighted that the #1 spot went to Cheryl Bridges Johns (Professor of Spiritual Formation and Christian Formation at the Pentecostal Theological […]

“No one is on the periphery of God’s story”. That’s how the pastor at the church I attended last Sunday started his very well delivered message. And what a great message it was! He went on to explain that no matter who you are, God wants to use you to spread the light of Jesus to […]

Along with Christmas, Advent is the glorious and only time of year when Christians across the theological spectrum can agree on women’s participation in God’s work.

In Advent, we do not exclude women from signaling God’s presence (Isaiah 7:14). Let the day arrive when the whole Church* welcomes women’s ordained service in mediating the Divine!

In Advent, we acknowledge the strong-willed, outsider women who shaped Jesus’ lineage (especially Tamar, Rahab and Ruth in Matthew 1:1-5). Let the day quickly come when the Church heeds women’s voices speaking prophetically from the margins!